Before the Light of the Moon
by praetorlupa
Summary: Before he became the spirit of winter. Before she built her castle in the Northern mountain. Elsa meets Jack on her journey away from Arendelle. Taking a stranger in, Jack helps the young queen as much as possible into understanding that she is no monster. But will Jack be enough to convince her?


**Author's note: So the movie Frozen had come out and people had been making pairings of Jack Frost and Elsa. Me being a slow brainer, noticed that it took Elsa about five minutes to get to that part of the mountain walking with a dress, while it took Kristoff and Anna half the movie, with a sled. (Seriously?) Anyway when watching it I noticed that somewhere around, Kristoff and Ana passed a lake that kinda looked closely to the one Jack died in, so that got me thinking. **

**As you know, Elsa meets Jack before he is revived by the moon, and this is when she is still trudging up that mountain in a dress. Usually I make stories that have realistic stuff that can easily connect to one another, like Jack Frost was during the time of the Vikings and therefore he was in history, and Elsa was kinda not. But let's see then, shall we? Enjoy it!**

**PS: No I haven't given up on the Percy Jackson and Avengers story, this was something to get out of my head, that and I promised someone. Thanks Guys!**

* * *

**Part (1/2)**

It all started with a storm. Elsa had ran away from the kingdom during the day of her coronation, oblivious to the fact that she had put it in a deep freeze. Up in the mountains, where sheets of snow would constantly fall and gave the feeling of welcome, yet at the same time a heavy and lonely heart.

Every step she took, higher and higher from the kingdom kept the subjects safe, and including her sister, who by now either hated or feared her.

The winds howled with an icy blast, flapping her cloak from one direction to another. Her cheeks started to blush from the cold, but it had no effect on her.

Elsa kept her arms wrapped one another against her chest, a dry sob making her gasp and sniffle. She stopped when she heard the laughter of children. Her head snapped up towards the sound as she searched for the source.

There.

A little girl with long brown hair reaching between her shoulders and elbows, a round babyish face with large brown warm eyes, wearing a brown and red clothing made for the winter. She was laughing and running around in circles, a few other kids joining her as well. Elsa watched in curiosity as the little girl made her way around a tree and dodged one of the other children's hand. Playing tag.

"Jack's it, Jack's it!" One of them said gleefully.

Elsa wrapped her cape around her more securely, hoping that its widespread cloth wouldn't make her noticeable.

"Where is he?" The girl gasped as she spun and laughed.

The braches from the tree started to shake, and then swinging upside down from them was another boy. He casually poked the girl from behind laughing, "Gotcha!" As he swung back onto the branch and landed carefully on his feet.

"No fair, Jack!" She pouted, "You were in the trees."

Jack raised his hands in exasperation, "You never said anything about trees, sis." He answered.

She slightly nudged him, with a smile on her face.

It was then that Elsa took a good look at him. Jack had the same features of the girl, his known little sister. His hair was a short brown, sticking in places as it was unkempt and fair skin, though his cheeks too were red from the cold. He had a white undershirt with a brown vest, wearing a poncho over both to keep the cold out. He was younger than Elsa, probably three or four years by the looks of it.

She watched as the two conversed about the game and how it was properly played. Elsa remembered times she would play tag with Anna when they were younger, before—everything. They would have gotten into so much trouble with the servants, knocking everything down and acting un-princess like. Their parents really didn't mind it as much, not when Elsa would use her powers in such childish games.

The memory made her smile, but at the same time a deep sadness would rise within the depths of her heart, creating a new wave of loneliness and fear.

"Miss?" Jack called out.

Elsa snapped back into reality as she looked back up and noticed Jack looking at her, a curious expression written on his face.

He took a tentative step toward her, ushering his sister to stay back.

Elsa reacted quickly and hid around the tree, her gloved hand in a small fist against her chest, her bare holding the cape from flowing into the wind.

"Are you alright?" He asked, getting closer, "Do you need help?"

This time, Elsa pushed herself off the tree, leaving it half frozen from where she had touched it. She stood to face the brother and sister as she carefully backed away from them, as if she were some disease.

"Please, stay back." She warned.

The little sister poked her head around Jack, those large brown eyes studying her. "Are you cold?" She asked. "You're wearing a very pretty dress. It's not made for winter up here."

Elsa looked down at her clothing, a green simple dress, definitely not made for winter or travel, and a thin cape that couldn't even be used as a blanket, much less keep her warm.

"I-I'm fine." Elsa responded. "Just don't come any closer."

Jack's posture relaxed, allowing his sister to stand next to him, but he still stood a safe distance. A stranger in the mountains was very strange to him.

"Where you from?" He asked curiously. Jack had taken trips to the outer villages before, sometimes even traveling as far to the cities to sell and get supplies.

Elsa looked back the way she came, nothing but trees covering the path she had walked on. "Arendelle." She answered swiftly.

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Arendelle? You're pretty far from home." He said with a slight smile. "Tell you what, since you traveled so far, why don't you come over and have supper with us?"

"Ooh!" The sister jumped up and down in excitement, "Yes, please, please, please!" She looked hopefully at Elsa.

Elsa looked at them in fear, her hands tightening closer to her sides as she took another step back. "Why would you help me?" People in Arendelle wouldn't just help some total stranger, especially bring them into their own home.

Jack gave her a warm smile and shrugged. "I usually have good judgment." He answered. "Unless you're a crazy woman who's come to secretly steal our stuff and destroy our lives, I'd say go ahead and stay out here."

His sister punched him in the gut.

"Oof." He grunted. "But"—he huffed a few times, "I'd say you're crazy enough to walk in that dress up in these mountains, you really need some food and rest. So come on, uh er"—

He had no idea what to call her.

"What's your name, miss?" The sister asked.

Elsa stopped herself. No one was safe as long as she was around them, but how could she say no? She made the decision, she would stay for a few minutes, walk a few feet away from them. Accept their hospitality and make her way out as fast as possible.

"Elsa." She responded hesitantly.

Jack took a few steps closer, stopping when he saw her flinch. With a smile he snapped his feet together and gave her a deep bow. "Well, Elsa." He said. "Jack Overland Frost at your service. And this little rascal"—he pointed at the girl behind her, "Is my little sister." He motioned his head behind him, putting his fingers to his lips and blowing.

In an instant, the other kids appeared, much younger but probably the same age as Jack's sister.

"Are we still going to play?" Asked a younger boy, probably three or four years old.

Jack shook his head. He looked up into the sky and then said, "It's going to be dark soon. And I promised your parents I would guard you with my life, remember?"

The boy nodded with a smile on his face. There was some kind of joke the two were sharing between each other.

Some of the children looked at Elsa curiously, smiling with what they saw but keeping their distance from her.

"Alright," Jack called out, "Let's go!" He looked at Elsa and gave her a warm smile, "Hope you can keep up." Gently he put a hand on her shoulder, "Call out if you need something." He assured before running forward to lead the children towards the village.

Jack's sister ran up to her and started to tug Elsa by her bare hand. Elsa tried to remove her hand in an act of instinct, but the soft and gentle touch of the little girl caused her to relax in the grip. She gently removed her hand, while Jack's sister was preoccupied on concentrating on the trail before them. The girl later relied on putting her hand on Elsa's skirt, unknowingly.

Elsa didn't want anyone near her, such was the curse she bared. Her powers stayed in control, but the fear started to build up in her chest that she was taking great heaves of air, as if she were running.

"Are you alright, Elsa?" Jack's sister asked. Her reassuring smile flashed across her face as she started to dance around Elsa, skipping in happy glee. "Don't worry, Jack will protect us. He's our guardian. He knows the snow better than anyone else."

"I don't doubt it." Elsa said.

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

Elsa figured that the only reason why they left in such a rush was because Jack loved messing around on their way back. She watched as he pulled pranks time after time again. One time he hung over a branch by his legs, scarring the little boy that was trying to get under her cape when it flew upwards from the wind. In retaliation the boy starting climbing over the upside down Jack, shuffling over his flaying arms and face.

"Ow!" Jack yelped, "That's my nose." He said as the boy put his foot under his nose, taking in frosted snow in his nose. He laughed and waited for the boy to grab onto the branch before bringing himself down.

Everyone cheered, and then ducked and covered as the boy started to make snowballs from the snow residing on the branch.

Elsa couldn't help but smile a little, watching everyone laugh and play in the cold. She didn't notice the one snowball coming towards her until it hit her on her head. The cold icy sting stung her eyes for a moment, before she placed a gloved hand on her forehead and tripped.

Everyone stopped laughing. She noticed Jack coming towards her, a warm hand examining her. "You alright?" He asked.

She gently tried to remove the prying hands on her head. "I'm fine." She said, "It was just a snowball."

The fear of having him so near her sent tingles down her hand, where small ice crystals started to form within the snow. It started very thin, about the width of a small twig, before stretching farther and faster towards the tree where the boy was hanging.

The ice quickly spread, coiling around the tree like a snake, making it turn to ice. The winds slowly started to pick up, unnoticed by anybody but Elsa.

_Conceal_, she thought to herself in a panic, _don't feel. Don't let it show._

"Jack!" The boy yelled out in fear.

Jack turned quickly. The branch the boy was hanging on had broken off, making him jump to the second highest, where he dangled.

"Hold on there, kid!" He yelled, dashing towards him.

Jacked looked up from tree, looking at the branches and watching as they slowly started to turn to cold blue ice. And it wasn't like ice that covered the top layer of the tree, it was _ice_. Jack could easily knick it and a shard would appear.

_How did this happen_? He thought quickly. He looked up at the sky, noticing the sun was hiding behind clouds as a fresh sheet of snow came roaring in through the winds. He didn't seem to remember how they got there so quickly.

"Danny!" He yelled up. He brought out his arms. "Come on, I'll catch you!"

Danny shook his head. It was a four meter drop, high enough for a kid that reached a five feet.

"Come on, its uh… it's um..." Jack tried looking for a word, "A crazy trust exercise! Just like we do in the village."

"When we fall into each other's arms backwards?" The kid nearly gurgled.

"Yeah! Exactly like that." Jack gave a small smile so that the other kids wouldn't worry, "You fall, and I'll catch. Do you trust me?"

Danny said nothing.

"Do you _believe_ in me, Danny?" For some reason, the winds started to pick up faster. Jack could hardly stand on his feet without being blown away. He took a glance behind him and saw his younger sister kneeling down on the ground, arms locked around the other children as they swayed through and through. They sat around Elsa, like a barricade.

Danny dropped. Jack caught him with a slight grunt, the kid hugging Jack with a vise like grip.

"Alright," He said through the gushing winds, cradling Danny. "No more fooling around."

"You were the one's playing pranks, Jack!" His sister said.

"Yeah, I know, I know." He looked at Elsa and gave a reassuring smile, "Everyone, let's stick together now, you hear?"

The children got up from their huddled formation. Jack's sister was holding Elsa's hand.

"No, I should go." Elsa said.

His sister looked ahead to see Jack forming a line with the kids, to hold onto one another. "No, not out here!" She said.

"As long as I'm here, none of you are safe." She said, tugging her hand out of her grip.

"What are you talking about?" The sister said, her persisting hand urging Elsa to stand up from the storm.

From the winds, Jack yelled out. "Hey, sis! You coming or what?"

"Yeah! Hold on." She said back. "Please, Miss Elsa, you can't stay out here. I won't allow it!" she said in a demanding voice. "It's not as if you caused that tree to become ice col"—She let her voice wander "Unless it was?"

Elsa fisted her bare hand against her heart, not saying anything. She felt Jack's sister's grip loosen from her gloved hand, letting it go slack. She looked at the ground where Elsa was, and saw the trailing ice from where she sat to the tree. "It _was you_!" She gasped. Backing away.

Elsa quickly got up, and started to walk in a different direction. Nearly tripping and running from her skirts, her cape flapping widely around her arms, causing her to sway. _Now you see me for who I truly am, _she thought darkly, _a monster._

"Wait!" Jack's sister went on, she grabbed Elsa's arm and started to pull her towards the pathway to Jack. Her tug persistent.

"No!" Elsa gasped, trying to break free. "You need to let me go, I'll hurt one of you again."

Jack's sister said nothing, just continued to tug. "The only person you're hurting is yourself." She said, "You need to _let it go_."

Elsa stopped struggling and listened. The words hit her heart like a claw, scraping through her skin. "I can't control it." She said.

Jack's sister gave her a slight smile, "You'll learn." She tugged Elsa harder. "I won't say anything, if you won't. Come on!" the two started trudging up the snow, one running widely, and the other being dragged. "Jack!" She gasped. As they reached him, he was still holding Danny, the other children holding each other's hands.

From the distance, they could see a dim light ahead. They all walked a slow pace from there, the light seeming to get farther and farther away. Later on, Elsa started to calm down the panic that was rising within the depths of her soul. At the same time, the snow started to become a simple layer falling down softly.

Elsa was hit by the fires that were lit in every corner. Starting from bonfires to little candles. The kids found their way to their houses. Mothers hugging and kissing them as they ran into their arms. They tanked Jack as he walked passed them, giving him hugs and a peck on the cheek.

"Come on," He said, looking at Elsa. "We'll get you warmed up soon."

He and his sister lead her to the other side of the village, where a simple wooden house, coated from snow, stood. Candle light flickered within the walls of the house, smoke bellowing out from the chimney. A woman came out, holding a rag in her hands. She had the same face as her daughter, but her eyes had the twinkle from Jack. Brown hair, sharp face, with a simple brown and white dress. She smiled when she saw her children, who ran to her embrace.

"Did Jack take care of you?" She asked, looking at her daughter.

She shook her head, smiling. Jack ruffled her hair as she ran inside, removing her boots and coat.

"Oh, ma." Jack said, turning to their visitor. "This is Elsa of Arendelle."

"Arendelle?" The mother said surprised. "And you walked here young lady? In _that _dress."

Elsa folded her hands together saying, "Yes ma'am."

The mother smiled warmly, bring her hands out and ushering the two inside. "Well, good thing Jack found you when you did. There's a winter blast coming, I could feel it in my bone. You both better get inside, supper's nearly ready."

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

Supper was a simple soup, bread and greens. It didn't taste as good as the food from the castle, but it was made with something that the chef never put into it: Warmth.

Jack's mother didn't have any extra clothes for Elsa to wear, but an extra blanket. Jack told her that she would be staying the night and could continue on in the morning.

Elsa watched them, as a family, moving around one another as they ate together as a family. From what she understood, their father died on an ice business a few years back. Jack started taking care of the family by working with the blacksmith, and the mother was an herbalist. They laughed and talked about their day, Jack making large whooshing sounds to make his day sound more dramatic.

He reminded Elsa of Anna when they were younger. So bright and full of life, always trying to make things more fun. Even when they were on opposite ends of a door, Elsa thought she heard her sister riding her bike down the hall and crashing into one of the knights in armor.

As they cleaned up, Jack had a tendency of splashing water at his sister, but always ended up cleaning up after words.

"Jack, why don't you give Elsa your bed for tonight?" His mother whispered in his ear.

"Yeah, sure." He said, dropping the rag back into the bucket.

He walked up to her, still sitting by the table, looking out of the window.

"Hey." He said behind her.

She jumped slightly, and then smiled.

He smiled back. "Here, I'll show you to your room. I'm sure it's not like Arendelle's classy rooms, but ours is first class!" He took her gloved hand and led her across the hallway, opening the door for her.

She took a tentative step inside, looking around. There was a small desk with a stack of books and papers messed around. A drawing was pinned to the wall of what looked like a child drew. The bed was small and raggedly looking.

"This is your room, isn't it?" Elsa said, turning to him. "I can't take that from you."

"It's alright," Jack said, "I sleep in my sister's room more than mine."

"Really?" Elsa asked, "Why?"

Jack shivered at the thought. Reminding himself of the awful dreams he started having a few months back. They stopped of course, but he couldn't help but remember the awful chilling dreams.

Quickly, he snapped out of it. Nothing but a bad dream. He looked at Elsa and reassured her with one of his smiles.

He looked back at his sister, who was sitting by the fire place playing with a doll he made her last summer. His mother stitching together Jack's poncho, which he made a hole in. She was fine, nothing was going to happen to her.

"Jack?" His sister looked up from her dolls, "Are you still going to read a story to me tonight?"

He smiled, "Of course!" He walked up to her, bending down on one knee, "First, you need to get dressed and hop into bed. And then I'll read you another story."

He saw his mother give a brief smile to the two of them. They were a perfect pair.

His sister clapped and got up quickly. Jack's mother got up from her seat, holding onto his little sisters hand.

"This may take a while." She told Jack.

Jack waved it off, "Take your time!"

She kissed his head, hugging him tightly, "Who would have thought," She whispered, "That I would have a perfect boy?"

"I love you too, ma."

He watched as the two left into his sister's room. A thought came over him as he looked at his poncho, and then back at Elsa. Jack thought for a moment. She looked so far away, her mind seeming to be somewhere else. He had an idea.

"You want to go out?" He said suddenly. He stopped and made a face, "That didn't come out the way I expected. What I meant was, do you want to see something?"

"What?"

He grabbed her hand, and then took his poncho, pulling it over his arms and tying it. He grabbed a blanket from a chair and handed it to Elsa.

"Come on!" He said excitedly and then the two quickly went to the door and into the chilly night.

"Wait, Jack!" Elsa yelped, "What about your sister?"

"Girls take forever to get ready," He said, "No offense."

His jumpy and gleeful attitude made her smile, she couldn't help but forget that she nearly froze him and the other children earlier.

They bounded outside into the cold air, passing bonfires and other homes. The villagers greeted Jack with happy expressions.

"Is she your girlfriend, Jack?" One of them called out.

"Bug off, Zane!" He said back, his cheeks reddening.

Elsa smiled, but then heard a few whispers saying, "You think he got over her already?"

They were already a few ways worth from the village. Jack showed her to an abandoned church, which seemed to go on for miles. The largest tower seeming to reach the clouds. The beams were rusted and frozen to one another, stones cracking and falling.

"Come on!" He said with excitement, and then started climbing.

"Wait, Jack!" Elsa said, did he really expect her to climb a dangerous building?

The answer was obvious when he looked down with a crazy look in his eyes, and he continued on higher.

"There's a stair case that leads up here, this is just faster!" He grunted.

Elsa smiled and made her way towards the stairs. It looked much more dangerous than scaling the wall of the tower, but she hiked her skirts up and then walked onward.

Jack was sitting on top, waiting. "Well you took your sweet time." He said.

As they settled trying to catch their breaths, Elsa looked at the view.

"It's something, isn't it?" Jack said astonished. "I always come up here a few weeks before spring." He chuckled, "The weather is different here, when its spring somewhere else, we're still going over winter. Our weather is so abnormal, we never know when the warm weather will hit."

Given the height, the view of the village made everything smaller. However, Elsa could see the smallest of details, from Jack's house, to the bonfire in the center.

"So, Jack." She started, "Do you normally ask for people to come over to your home?"

He shrugged. "Well there was this one time." He explained. "It was a whole family of them, about eleven. My sister couldn't leave them alone, not in this kind of weather. We ended up taking all of them in."

"All eleven?"

"Yep, eleven more mouths to feed. Mother was in hysterics." He laughed. "But even she couldn't say no to rabbits."

"Rabbits?!"

He gave her an amusing look and said, "Rabbits. Even then, spring came. We had no choice but to let them loose."

Elsa noticed that he was shoulder to shoulder with her, and he did it with ease. Without wanting to hurt his feelings, she took moved a few inches away from him. She brought her hands back up to her chest, clenching them close to her heart.

"Don't you get cold?" She asked him, as he started blowing air into his hands and then rubbing them together vigorously.

"The cold doesn't bother me." Jack said wistfully. "Winters here are so harsh that you get the hang of it after a while."

"Or it's because of your namesake." Elsa joked, "Frost."

Jack smiled, "Yeah, that's what the other villagers say." He laughed, "Old Man Frost is what the kids call me. Probably because I started teaching them about grownups. He started to explained, "They started calling me an Old Man because I was seeing this"—He paused, and a dark look came over him. Though it was briefly, that Elsa thought she had imagined it.

"You lost someone special, didn't you?" Elsa asked sadly.

"Two years ago it was my father." He said, his eyes losing its light, "Last year it was this girl… Sara. We used to have so much fun together, the adventures we went on." He chuckled, "And then winter came, and with it was the sickness. My sister and I got better, but her…"

"I'm sorry." Elsa said, "You lost so much from the cold, didn't you?"

Jack shook his head, "I'm going to make sure that never happens. Not this winter, or the next." He ushered his head downward. "Now come on or they my mother will throw a fit!"

"But we just got here!" Elsa said.

"I said girls were slow." He grunted as he placed his foot on a beam, and then lowered himself carefully, "Not that slow."

"Hey, Jack." She said, looking over the edge. "Thanks."

"No problem!" He smiled.

"No, I mean…" She paused and looked into his warm eyes, "I've been through so much today. And out of everything, you and your family had been so kind to a complete stranger."

Jack hefted himself upwards to come face to face with Elsa. They were so close to one another, their breaths fogged their eyes. "Well that's the Frosts!" He paused for a second and then looked at Elsa, "Your majesty."

Elsa was taken back. She quickly sat back on her heels, looking at him startled. "What? How di-did you know?"

Jack pointed at his head, and Elsa's hand subconsciously went towards it. She felt the cold metallic feeling of the crown resting upon her ruined hair. She forgot she was wearing it.

"It seemed a bit obvious." He started to say casually, he balanced his feet on a beam so that he was just casually standing on it, with his arms on the roof, leaning. "Not a lot of crowns can gleam like that, or it's a forged version. Plus, my sister was right, your clothing was definitely not made for winter or travel up in the mountains. It's very casual in a ball attire I guess. Not that I know a lot about dresses, just seems fancy."

Elsa stood up and took a step away from Jack, a look of sadness and fear showing in her eyes. Jack didn't want to seem to pity her, considering the way she acted around him and the other village children, she probably wouldn't accept the pity. So he stood there calmly, staring at her as if they were having a casual conversation.

"I'm guessing something bad happened that chased you all the way up here." He said. "Want to talk about it?"

She shook her head no. "I should probably go." She said, making her way towards the broken stairs.

Jack grunted as he lifted himself back onto the roof, "You can't keep running from your problems you know." He said after her.

She stopped and looked at him. "You don't understand, Jack."

He took a tentative step forward, "Then make me understand." He said, "Whatever happened can't be as bad as you think."

"It is as bad as you think." She took a step back, "No, please. Stay back, I'm dangerous."

"No you're not."

"Yes, I am!" She exclaimed, "I knew it was a bad idea coming with you and the others."

"There are people here that can help you, Elsa. We can help you." He started to walk towards her now, every step coming closer to her.

"No, stay back!" She said in fear. She wiped her hand across in front of her, and then a series of pointed ice formed before her in a flash of blue and white light.

Jack took a step back from surprise rather than fear. Tears were at the brim of her eyes, she quickly turned and made her way back down the stairs this time.

"Wait!" Jack yelled, he jumped over the ragged ice, watching as its weight slid off the roof and scatter below. He grabbed her hand.

"No, don't touch me!" She exclaimed, taking her hand back.

Jack was sending out giant puffs of white air into the sky, he looked at Elsa in a new matter, but not fear. Just wonder. "Why didn't you say anything earlier?"

"Don't you see?" She said, tears in her eyes, "I'm a monster!"

"No you're not." He said, "You're… wonderful."

"What?"

"You're hiding your powers because of your fear of hurting someone, but the only person you're hurting is yourself."

"Your sister said that to me."

"Well my sister has words of wisdom most of the time." He replied, "The point is, you have to let all this go. Nothing good will come out of having fear."

"That's all that keeps everyone safe. Fear."

"You're not a monster, Elsa." He said, "Please, come back with me, and we could help you."

Elsa gave a sad smile, shaking her head and backing away. "You're family has been so kind to me, Jack. But the thought of hurting you or the village… I just _can't_." She said, she stomped her foot on the ground, and it was an accident to what happened next. From where her foot was, ice formed around the roof. Only a small circle of snow surrounded her, keeping her locked to the ground, unlike Jack.

He started to slip, the slanted roof pulling him down, like a slide. His arms were flailing, looking for anything that could keep him suspended, but then he lost his footing and slipped off the roof.

"_No_." She whispered in disbelief. She climbed down the stairs quickly, jumping off the last three when she saw how Jack landed.

The icicles she created earlier on had shattered into large chunks. Jack was lucky enough not to land on any of the spikes, but a blunt part of it. His head had hit it, but it was hidden beneath the snow, creating a soft blow, but he was nearly unconscious.

She knelt down and felt his pulse, and was glad to hear his breathing. A slight smile of relief came to her, and then guilt. She looked around and saw the blanket that Jack had given her for the cold. It must have fallen with the icicles. Unsure, she grabbed it and spread it around Jack. It wouldn't help much, but surely Jack had told his mother or his sister about the church, and they were gone for a long time, one of them should have noticed.

"I'm so sorry, Jack." She whispered near his ear, and then she took off into the night.

Jack, his vision starting to turn dark, looked at the fleeing form. The violet cape flowing behind her. He raised his arm out, as if to reach her.

"Elsa." He croaked, before sweet oblivion darkened his eyes.

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

Gleaming lanterns decorated the woods, swinging back and forth by the grips of the few villagers.

"Jack?"

"Jack!"

"Where are you?"

"Jack?"

A dog barked.

"Mama!" Called a young girl, "He's here! He's here! Just like I told you."

A rustle of footprints. Jack could hear everything, but he couldn't move. The cold didn't bother him, but it seemed to have frozen him in place.

He felt a warm hand cover his head, and two gruff fingers press against his neck.

"We found him!" Yelled the voice. He felt arms lift him from the cold snow. His back seeming to feel frozen.

"Elsa." He muttered under his breath.

"What was that?" Came a villager voice.

"Did he say Sara?"

"Poor boy."

"Where's Elsa?" A little girl asked.

"We'll find her." Answered another.

Darkness again.

(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)

_Jack and his sister were skating on the ice, just like they did every winter for tradition. Their father used to take them, but now it was Jack's duty to fill in those steps. This time though, the ice was too weak to skate on, the morning sun heating the ice and making it soft. He could see his sister standing around a web of cracked ice in her skates. Jack was closer to land, so the ice was thicker, but his sister was unfortunate. _

_"It's okay." He would say to her, "it's okay. Don't look down, just look at me."_

_"Jack, I'm scared." She would say back._

_"I know, I know." He replied, "but you're gonna be alright. You're not gonna fall in. We're gonna have a little fun instead!"_

_"No we're not!"_

_"Would I ever trick you?"_

_"Yes!" She said exasperated, "You always play tricks!"_

_Jack gave a nervous laugh. "Well, alright." He said, "Well, not this time. I promise. I promise, you're gonna be… you're gonna be fine."_

_Jack looked at his sister, fixating his gaze on her so she was the only thing he saw. She looked back, his calm eyes making her forget for just a moment. There was only the two of them on the ice._

_"You have to believe in me." Jack reassured. _

_His sister paused, and gave a brief smile through her fear…. But then, before he could even start, the ice around her cracked more, a spiral of webs stretching around her, echoing through the trees. The fear came back into her eyes as she looked down and realized. She looked at Jack. That look she gave him before she would…._

From the corner of a room, a dark entity dressed in black lurked in the shadows. He hovered over the boy with an evil gleam in his eyes, a smile forming on his lips.

"What a beautiful nightmare." He sneered, waving his hands above the dream dust, which turned black within his touch. "And I had nothing to do with this one, boy." He said, creeping back into the shadows as the morning light illuminated the room.

Jack woke up, yelling out in fear.


End file.
